Oklahoma Crude

A law enacted in 2023, when McCall was House speaker, expressly prohibits gender-transition procedures for minors. Was there an effort underway to roll back the bill? Did the state need to pass an even more stringent prohibition? “There are a lot of people in the state of Oklahoma that are concerned about those value issues, and they want to know where you stand on them,” he responded. “It’s not the only thing we are talking about and have been talking about, but that’s important to the Republican electorate.” Polling suggests he isn’t exactly wrong. In a January survey conducted by Oklahoma pollster Cole Hargrave Snodgrass and Associates, 53 of likely Republican primary voters said cultural issues such as banning Sharia law and transgender surgeries for youth would be vital when deciding which candidate to support. Just 39 said those topics were less important than day-to-day government functions, namely public education, tax policy and infrastructure. And yet the favorite in the Republican primary, Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond, is taking a different tack.